Illinois State track and field head coach Elvis Forde has always been the optimistic type, and with the outdoor season reaching the halfway point, that level of optimism has grown.
Forde takes his team to Charleston, Ill., this weekend and the campus of Eastern Illinois for the Big Blue Classic, a three-day meet that started Thursday with the heptathlon and decathlon. The heptathlon continues on into Friday, starting at 9:30 a.m., while the mens hammer kicks off the field events at 2 p.m. Running events begin at 4 p.m. with the womens 4x800 relay.
Brittney Hourd competed in the heptathlon Thursday and currently sits in first place after four events with 2,751 points.
This weekend, we want to maintain our health status and work on the little things, Forde said. A lot of our athletes will only run one event at this meet because we want to get as many of the kids to compete as possible.
On the womens side, Forde is optimistic because the team has made collective strides during the outdoor season. Last weekends Gatorade Classic had a number of Redbirds finish first including Betsy McDonald (1,500 run) and Tori Gaumer (pole vault), while Lyn Cox, Lian Lucas, Devon Williams and Lindsey Arnold teamed up to win the 4x100 relay.
Andrea Mosher has also performed well, holding down the top time in the Valley in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.99) the last three weeks. Cox, Williams, Lucas and Arnold have the second best Valley time in the 4x100 at 45.89, which is second only to SMS. Laura Kennedy qualified for the NCAA Mid-East Regional two weeks ago in the 3,000 steeplechase.
Were looking at a number of athletes on the womens side who have a shot at qualifying for regionals, Forde said. Several of our sprinters, as well as our middle distance runners have an excellent shot at making it. Its better to qualify early so we can then focus on the conference championships.
While the mens team does not have the depth of the women, they have still received several individual performances that will pay big dividends at the conference meet. Rhett Hillard had a personal best throw of 59-0 3/4 in the shot put at the Gatorade Classic, earning him his sixth career Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar Athlete of the Week award.
Kelley Anderson is currently the Valleys leader in the 100 dash with a time of 10.80, while Hillard is leading the way in the shot put after last weekends performance. Bronco Meeks is still tops in the 800 run (1:51.87), while Geoff Houtman is second (1:52.04). Dan Tripp currently leads the Valley in the 1,500 (3:52.11), while Brian Krantz, who has already qualified for the Mid-East Regional, leads the way in the hammer (191-0).
I believe that Bronco (Meeks) and Geoff (Houtman) can qualify for the regional meet in the 800, as can Mark Jackson in the shot put and hammer, Forde said. We may not have the numbers on the mens side, but right now, were getting tremendous performances from everyone.
